Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Buddy Nix sort of maybe doesn't like guard at No. 8

BY NICK ST. DENIS

Now is the time when anyone will say anything about anyone without ruling out anything.

As we wind down closer to the 2013 draft, the talking heads are grinding out the near-final versions of their mock drafts. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay most recently have the Buffalo Bills taking one of the class' top two guards. (photo: Charles Atkeison, Flickr)

But hold on just a second. Bills general manager Buddy Nix is on the phone.
"Not at all," Nix said, twice, when asked if his team's top-light guard situation due to the departure of Andy Levitre and Chad Rinehart makes guard a glaring priority in the first round of the draft.

”I know people have said we’re taking one of those top two guards," Nix said, according to BuffaloBills.com, regarding North Carolina’s Jonathan Cooper or Alabama’s Chance Warmack. "Our roster in house is better than I think we get credit for especially offensive line. We’re pretty deep there. We’ve got six guards and we think a couple of them can play.

But let's not rule anything out. As usual.

"Now having said all that before you write that we’re not going to take a guard at number eight, it’s hard to pass up two players like the old boy at Alabama and the kid at North Carolina," he added. "Both of those are great players so you have to give that a lot of thought when they come up."